Threat explosions may come from mines and other explosive devices, improvised or otherwise, placed in or near the path of a vehicle. Mine or explosive device placement may be buried, on the ground surface, or just about the ground level. Further, these mines or explosive devices may be encountered directly under the center of the vehicle or offset laterally from the vehicle path.
Traditionally, ground vehicles have been shielded from explosions using heavy armor plates. These plates may have adequate strength and mass to prevent breach from explosive overpressures and penetration by projectiles. The United States military's M2 Bradley Infantry Fight Vehicle (a tracked vehicle weighing approximately 30 tons) is an exemplary vehicle that employs this approach.
Tactics in recent conflicts have required sending vehicles with significantly less armor and weight onto the battlefield. Also, recent conflicts have seen the advent of land mines and other explosive devices with much greater explosive power. These factors have driven the design of armored personnel carriers and assault vehicles that can withstand substantial explosive loading.
The new classes of armored vehicle are of lighter weight and higher maneuverability than traditional configurations, and are typically based on a wheeled design as opposed to tracks. Examples of these new vehicles include the U.S. military's various Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) models and the Stryker armored fighting vehicle. The design of these vehicles relies not only on the strength of armor materials in the structure, but also the geometry of the outer body to deflect blasts from explosive threats.
Using blast deflecting geometries enables new vehicle designs to attain higher levels of protection for a given armor mass. The result is lighter and more maneuverable fighting vehicles and personnel carriers that provide required protection to occupants and retain operational function when attacked from underneath or laterally with explosive devices.
To date, a downward pointing “V”-shaped geometry is the primary vehicle hull design used to enhance blast protection. This stands in comparison to the flat underneath of the more traditional M2 Bradley. The V-Hull design is intended to deflect away upwardly propagating blast, projectiles, and debris produced by buried mines and explosives devices at or near ground level. An exemplary V-hull design is disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2007/0186762 A1.